


Secret

by orphan_account



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Fantasy, Healing, Other, Wish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23411578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Secret
Relationships: Uhhh - Relationship





	Secret

Donnie's phone pinged with another text, followed by two more pings moments later. When his phone began to ring, he sighed, wishing he'd turned down the volume before getting into the car.

Ordinarily, the man was more than happy to keep in constant touch with all the people in his life, but today was different. Today, he had an appointment with Gracie.

The car eased into the reserved parking space, Donnie longing to see and spend time with his baby girl. 

Gracie had some of the most expressive eyes Donnie had ever seen, and he could spend hours with her, stroking her soft body.. 

Before he could see HER, however, Donnie had to get past the lady of the house.

"Hello again, Miss Nadia," he smiled, genuinely glad to see her. He appreciated Nadia's discretion, as well as her ability to sense his imminent arrival.

She moved aside to allow him entrance, and Donnie found Gracie waiting for him on the bed, shamelessly naked in the sunshine spilling through the window.

"I'll leave you two alone," Miss Nadia said, shaking her head in mock disapproval.

\------------------------

Donnie stayed as long as he could, telling Gracie all about his latest projects, reassuring her that she was loved and missed, and filling her in with updates on her previous owner. 

Gracie had enjoyed the attention, purring contentedly throughout, interspersed with the occasional meow or headbutt. As the evening rolled in, deepening the shadows, Donnie knew he had to leave.

As always, he had brought cash - enough to cover the rent, bills, and anything Gracie might want or need.

Miss Nadia had made brownies, and persuaded Donnie to stop long enough to partake.

She watched him chewing, his gaze frequently scanning the room for Gracie, who blinked her affection back at him.

"If you love her so much, why not just take her home with you?"

Nadia had asked this same question dozens of different ways, once a month, for over three years now. Every visit brought Donnie closer to keeping a promise he'd made: to provide care for Gracie for the remainder of her life. Having arranged for her new home when Gracie was eleven, he knew there would be only so many future visits, though it was something he didn't enjoy thinking about. 

Donnie had always danced around the subject, or simply refused to reply; this time, however, he opened up.

"Gracie was the favorite cat of a .. friend of mine. She - the friend, I mean - meant a lot to me. Still does."

Nadia didn't speak, didn't dare breathe, for fear Donnie would clam up.

He looked around the cozy home: the spacious kitchen, the comfortable living room, the small, warm bathroom, and the bedroom, with a plethora of soft, inviting places for a cat to lay. Donnie knew Gracie loved Nadia, but he also knew there was someone else she loved - because he loved and missed her, too.

"Circumstances changed for this friend, and she couldn't keep her cats. I did what I could to find good homes for them all, but for Gracie... For Gracie, I had to do something more."

Nadia nodded slightly. She remembered the odd classified ad, offering an almost obscene amount of money, plus free room and board, just to take care of a cat. 

When Donnie didn't speak again for several moments, Nadia tried to coax him to divulge a little more. She was now genuinely concerned. "Your.. friend; is she..?"

He sighed. "She's okay. Just.. I haven't told her. I can't. I can't have her in my life that way."

Nadia didn't understand all of the details, but she was beginning to grasp why the pretty gray cat meant so much to her boss.

"Well, perhaps your friend knows, on some level. Gracie is a very special cat; I think she'd find a way to let her previous owner know that she's alright."

Something softer - call it hope; call it nostalgia; call it what you want - misted over Donnie's eyes. 

"Maybe so." Gracie, having heard her name mentioned multiple times, jumped up into her guest's lap, giving him a cold-nose kiss on the chin.

Nadia cleared the table, giving them a moment. 

"I know you miss your mama," he murmured, scratching her in her favorite spot. "I miss her, too. You'll see each other again someday, babygirl."

He knew, somehow, that it was true, even as he wished it to be true for himself, too.

As Donnie left the sweet little home behind, Gracie blinking at him from the window as he slid into the night, he felt a knot reforming in his solar plexus, an ache which would never fully be soothed or released. 

This was so damn hard. 

He told himself every month that he should just set up direct payment, that he should stay away, that it was for the best...

But something always brought him back.

Gracie was a wonderful cat, but there was more to it; he simply wasn't ready to face up to it yet.

He was grateful for the chance to slip into a different life, if only for a few hours once every thirty days. 

Why did he need Gracie so much? Why did he need to feel like someone else for a while?

His phone rang, and this time, Donnie answered, putting it on speakerphone.

"Miss Gracie would like to say goodnight," Nadia teased.

Donnie swallowed the lump in his throat. "Goodnight, Gracie," he said, humoring them both - and himself. "See you again soon. Miss you. Mwah."

He let those words sit with him for the rest of the drive home, knowing they were aimed at more than one target.


End file.
